Welcome to the Skull Session.
The Buckeyes at Jack's Place. How cool.
Buckeyes take the course @MemorialGolf pic.twitter.com/tszxe82XND
— Ohio State Football (@OhioStateFB) May 28, 2025
Have a good Thursday.
“COACH DAY IS A REALLY GOOD DUDE.” Justin Thomas may be an Alabama graduate, but while playing with Ryan Day and Nick Saban during the Memorial Tournament’s Golden Bear Pro-Am on Wednesday, Day made him an Ohio State fan.
Kind of.
“I actually joked with Coach Saban coming up 18. I was like, ‘Man, I hate to say this, but Coach Day is a really good dude. I hate that I’m gonna maybe have to root for Ohio State a little bit because of how nice of a guy he was,’” Thomas said with a smile. “But it was awesome. Any time I get with Coach Saban, I enjoy. I just love talking to him. He’s always been so unbelievably nice and supportive to my family and myself and a lot of other players at Alabama.
“I was able to kind of talk football a little bit or ask questions between them two (Day and Saban) and myself. That was pretty cool. I know that that’s probably the last thing they want to talk about, but it’s pretty awesome seeing two greats out there hanging. It was really fun.”
Justin Thomas:
— Stefan Krajisnik (@skrajisnik3) May 28, 2025
I actually joked with Coach Saban coming up 18. I was like, Man, I hate to say this, but Coach Day is a really good dude. I hate that Im gonna maybe have to root for Ohio State a little bit because of how nice of a guy he was. pic.twitter.com/v8ug0abFtp
Cleveland.com’s Stefan Krajisnik asked if Day, Saban and Thomas got “all the answers to college football settled” during their brief round.
“Yeah, for sure,” Thomas said with a laugh. “No, they obviously had a lot of fans out there. Coming off a great year for Coach Day and, you know, I think that they (Day and Saban) have become closer over the years. Those are two people you sit back and listen (to) than try to lead any conversation. It was just fun to do that.”
Smart man.
I DON’T BUY IT. Last week, Horns247 insider Chip Brown reported that Texas declined Ohio State’s request to move their 2025 season opener from Saturday, Aug. 30, to Sunday, Aug. 31.
On Tuesday, Fox Sports executive Michael Mulvihill confirmed to Front Office Sports’ Ryan Glasspiegel that Texas stiff-armed Ohio State. He added that Fox had, in Glasspiegel’s words, “given the green light” to Ross Bjork’s idea to move the matchup from noon on Saturday to prime time on Sunday.
I believe him… but my Tommy Gun don’t!
Texas denied Ohio State's attempt to move their game from noon on Saturday to primetime on Sunday.
— Front Office Sports (@FOS) May 27, 2025
Fox gave the OK to the Buckeyes to play the Longhorns under the lights, but Texas blocked it, FOS has confirmed. pic.twitter.com/tq3wrjSd1F
It’s possible that Ohio State and Fox were on the same team, and that Texas was the Big Bad Longhorn who ruined all the fun. But – and stay with me now – what if Mulvihill, knowing Texas had denied Ohio State’s request, used this exclusive interview with Front Office Sports to earn some brownie points with Ohio State fans for making the Buckeyes play half-a-dozen noon games last season and a potential (read: probable) noon game against Texas in the 2025 season opener?
Well, had Texas accepted Ohio State’s request, we here at Fox – the network that relentlessly pats itself on the back for dominating the least desirable kickoff window on fall Saturdays – would have been totally cool with moving the game to another day and time!
Sure, Michael.
I don’t buy it.
A BIG TEN-SEC CHALLENGE? Growing up (and until the event ended in 2022), I looked forward to the ACC-Big Ten Challenge in men’s basketball. Seeing Ohio State in home-and-homes with Duke, North Carolina and more was as good as it got. Now, in 2025, I feel the same excitement brewing for a potential Big Ten-SEC Challenge in football.
LSU head coach Brian Kelly told Yahoo Sports’ Ross Dellenger this week that SEC officials discussed a regular-season scheduling arrangement with the Big Ten. The arrangement would include nine SEC games, one game against a Big Ten opponent and two non-conference games (against schools like Chattanooga, Mercer or another FCS opponent, I would assume).
LSU coach Brian Kelly says officials this week did discuss a regular season scheduling arrangement with the Big Ten, including adding a ninth SEC game. Would be 9 SEC games + B1G game + 2 others.
— Ross Dellenger (@RossDellenger) May 28, 2025
We want to play Big Ten schools, Kelly says.
Other coaches say they discussed a Big Ten scheduling arrangement with an *8-game* SEC conference schedule. That would be 8 SEC games + B1G game + 3 others.
— Ross Dellenger (@RossDellenger) May 28, 2025
Reminder: A move from 8 SEC games to 9 means the CFP format, ADs suggested yesterday, needs to guarantee multiple spots.
As Dellenger reported earlier in 2025, a Big Ten-SEC scheduling arrangement would necessitate the SEC moving from eight to nine conference games, as the Big Ten currently plays nine. That potential move is contingent on the future College Football Playoff format, which remains undecided as CFP executives accumulate thousands of Hilton Honors points traveling across the United States to eat bonbons.
Still, if and when the CFP executives decide on a future format, there’s a chance – and it looks like a real one – that Big Ten and SEC schools will battle on the gridiron like Big Ten and ACC schools used to on the hardwood. That excites me!
BUT IT CAN BE BETTER. While the headliner of the Ohio State Board of Trustees' latest session was NBA superstar LeBron James receiving a Doctorate of Public Service from the school, another item in the trustees’ materials involved approving a new $5.2 million scoreboard inside Value City Arena.
According to the materials, trustees approved costs of $600,000 for professional services and $4.2 million for construction (with contingency) to design and construct the new scoreboard. The professionals’ design will begin in June and conclude in September, while construction is expected to commence in April 2026 and be completed before October 2026.
“This project will replace the existing scoreboard, the 360-degree ribbon board, and all outdated LED boards and signs,” the materials read. “The new scoreboard will fit within the existing footprint and reuse the hoist.”
Ohio State implemented the current scoreboard at Value City Arena in 2008. It marked the 10th anniversary of the Schottenstein Center. Sources (read: my friends) have said the arena’s scoreboard has shown wear and tear in recent years, with some sections of the screens not operating correctly or, on rare occasions, not at all.
Sounds like a good update to me!
SONG OF THE DAY. "Yellow Eyes" - Rayland Baxter.
CUT TO THE CHASE. Mushroom-tripping hikers mistakenly report a companion's death... On set for the last day of "Around the Horn"... 55-year-old Kami Rita Sherpa breaks his own record: climbing Mount Everest 31 times... Tiger Woods' son Charlie wins 1st major junior golf event, follows dad's footsteps.
